Time Apart
by Oneturtledove
Summary: A step back, a deep breath. Here is your big picture.


Disclaimer: Never, never, never have I ever, ever, ever owned either of these characters before. YEEHAW! Never, never, never have I ever, ever, ever got any money for writing them before. YEEHAW! Chris Carter made them and 1013 showed them and David and Gillian made them real. YEEHAW! Never, never, never have I ever, ever, ever owned either of these characters before. YEEHAW!

A/N: I am tired from writing that disclaimer. Anyway, this idea started with a "what have I never done before?" Then Julia kicked me in the butt, and here you have this. I don't know how it will end yet, but my best stories usually write themselves that way.

This is dedicated to... uh... my Sean. I miss him. Silly late night driving, penny tipping, Barnes and Noble going, cherry bomb car freshener buying, inside joke telling, Psychology class picture drawing, super cheesy breadstick making, fuzzy banana growing, in the car fighting, X-Files watching, pop machine incident laughing, hands in my hair playing, wonderful, infuriating, challenging, amusing, trusting, encouraging, spoiling, helping, crazy bread lump. I. Still. Love. You. Here's a belated birthday hug. It was awkward just like I said it would be. I'm always right, Sean. Always.

* * *

"Scully, I think we need to spend some time apart."

She just looked at him for a moment, wondering what in the world he meant. When she opened the door a second ago, she was expecting round two of their fight. She wasn't expecting a somber Mulder with his proverbial tail between his legs.

"What are you talking about?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm talking about the fact that we got into a fight so loud today that people came downstairs to watch. I'm talking about the fact that in the last week we have had screaming matches in front of Skinner, your mom, and that poor college girl at the coffee shop. I'm talking about the fact that our partnership is going down the toilet and our friendship is following at an astonishing speed. I'm talking about the fact that neither one of us seems to want to fix it, and that scares the crap out of me."

She sighed and crossed her arms for a moment before uncrossing them and throwing them up in the air in frustration.

"So what are you suggesting we do, Mulder?"

"We both have some vacation coming up. We should spend it apart."

"What's that going to fix?"

"I don't know."

"Then what's your reasoning behind this?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm not sure either of us really want this anymore."

"Want what?"

"This. Our lives, our jobs... each other."

"You're not sure you want it?"

"I don't know, Scully."

"You're reading something into this fighting that isn't here. What makes you think I don't want this? And why don't you want it?"

"It's not that I don't. I just think that maybe... maybe we're ready for a change. We're ready to move on."

"Move on to what?"

"I'm not sure yet. That's why I think we need time apart. To figure things out."

"You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"No."

"Fine. What's the plan?"

"We both have two weeks of vacation saved up. I think we should both just get out of town. And I don't think we should call each other either."

"At all? For two weeks?"

"I thought you would be relieved."

"Not necessarily," she said, crossing her arms.

He sighed and sat down on the couch.

"Scully, we've got to do something. I don't like how things are going."

"I don't either."

"This is all I can think to do."

She knew he was right. She hated to admit it, and she hated what it meant, but he was most definitely right. They needed time apart. Time neither one of them had had in years.

She sighed and uncrossed her arms, then sat down on the couch.

"Okay, maybe you're right."

"I am?"

"Maybe not right, but you might be onto something here."

"Your enthusiasm shocks me," he deadpanned, looking over at her.

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder or some crap, right?"

"You're so ladylike."

"I've been working with you too long," she retorted, leaning back against the couch.

"I corrupt the best of them."

They smiled at each other a little and fell into a silence. Neither was sure what to say, or how to say what needed to be said. Either way, they weren't very comfortable with this conversation.

"You really think you can go two weeks without talking to me?" Scully asked finally. Mulder looked over at her with a wry smile.

"No. But I think we need to try it."

"Alright."

"You don't want to do this."

"It's not that. We've just talked every single day for years. Not talking for two weeks is going to be really weird."

"Probably. What if we didn't talk for one week, and then the next week we could talk once a day. Short phone calls, just to check in."

"I feel a little bit better about that."

"Alright. That's what we'll do then."

"Where are you going to be?"

"I don't know yet. I might just drive and see where I end up. You?"

"We'll see. Maybe I'll go out and see Charlie or something. I'll figure something out."

"You could always go back to Maine."

"You're funny, Mulder."

He just nodded.

"I should go."

"Okay."

"We can talk about this more in the next few days if you want."

"Maybe."

"You know this doesn't change anything, right?"

"It might."

"Maybe. But for now everything is the same. We're still friends. Partners. Okay?"

"Alright."

"I feel like we need to hug or something."

"I'm still kind of mad at you."

"I'm still kind of mad at you too. But I'll hug you anyway."

"I don't really have a choice in this do I?" she asked, even as her arms slid around him. He rested his chin atop her head and they were quiet for several minutes.

"How can I hate you and love you at the same time?" she asked.

"I don't know. It's infuriating though, isn't it?"

"Yes."

He gave her a little squeeze before he stood from the couch.

"I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight Mulder."

"Night."

She sighed as she watched the door close. She couldn't believe this was happening. Fighting so much that they could hardly be around each other. It was too strange to be real. And now to take time apart, like they were a married couple going through a rough patch. She wasn't sure that she could handle it if this didn't turn out well. Sure they fought. Sometimes she wanted to rip his head off. But she also loved him. Loved him so much that the rest of that didn't seem so important. Loved him so much that fighting with him was preferable to being away from him. The dependency scared her. Maybe he was right. They needed time off to reevaluate things.

She was not looking forward to this vacation at all.


End file.
